The first and only EP from Bad Meets Evil dropped 10 years ago today, let's take a look at it!
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| The cover art depicts Eminem and Royce sitting on speakers in Hell |
Today marks 10 year since the duo consisting of Eminem and Royce da 5'9" released their first and only EP Hell: The Sequel, so today we review their 2011 collaboration. Before we go in to depth with the EP it self, I wanna really quickly take a look at Em and Royce as a duo.
Yesterday I took a look at "The Real Slim Shady", be sure to check it out!
Read the story on "The Real Slim Shady" here!
Em and Royce formed Bad Meets Evil in 1998, and they have most recently collaborated on three songs from Eminem's Music To Be Murdered By. Em confirmed on the album that the duo is in fact still active saying:
"Pack heat, but it's blank ink Evil
Half of the Bad Meets Evil
That means take a back seat"
However the two had a fall out resulting in the both going their separate ways in the early 2000's, due to D12's rose of fame. It turned to a public feud, and Royce ended up releasing three diss tracks aimed at Eminem and D12. After diss tracks from both said, Royce and late D12 member Proof settled their differences.
Em first teased the EP on their collaborative track "Bad Meets Evil" on his album The Slim Shady LP from 1999, saying these lyrics:
"See you in Hell for the sequel
Bad Meets Evil, what?"
The EP released in 2011 and was released by Interscope Records and Shady Records (Em's own record label). The EP debuted at number on the Billboard 200 and sold 171,000 copies in the first week.
The EP mostly features a horrorcore theme, but with a lot of humorous inputs from both Em and Royce, which reduces the hardness on some of the tracks.
Em and Royce are both really talented rappers, and get a chance of displaying their well-thought lyricism, funny rhyme schemes and great flow throughout the EP.
Rating:
Vibe - 4/10
Besides from "Lighters", where Bruno Mars brings a nice-to-listen-to vibe. The album really isn't a vibe at all. It's surrounded on other things such is the technicality behind rapping.
Lyrics - 8,5/10
This is what Em and Royce, the lyrics are very technically good. Throughout the EP they obtain to convey different references and metaphors into their lyrics.
Flow - 9,5/10
Another thing Em and Royce are absolutely amazing it is rapping itself, using multiple different rhyme schemes and flows in every song.
Music - 5/10
The music is hard-style on almost every track. The angry beat contributes to the lyrics, but the lyrics are what made this EP. The horrorcore beats behind it, doesn't have much value in them.
Overall - 7,2/10
The EP is really uniform in it's style. And hip hop music is more than just being technical amazing rappers. It's about connecting with the listener.
The album obtains to provide great lyrical content and tremendous rapping talent, but doesn't obtain to provide any vibe or feelings really.
Tracklist:
Welcome 2 Hell: 7/10
"Yeah
Told you we'd be back
Welcome to Hell"
The track starts out with Eminem referencing his lines from The Slim Shady LP, about him keeping his promise of the return of Bad Meets Evil.
Em and Royce open their EP in a hard-ass way. They welcome their listeners to the rough place, which Hell is.
They use their own unique way to try outdo each other on the track. The track has six verses total and no chorus, their verses keep getting shorter towards the ending. Towards they ending their lyrics start to merge into each other, creating a world-class collaboration of extremely talented lyricist.
This is the exact intro they were looking to produce. A hard track, where they get to show off their inventive, well-thought lyricism.
Fast Lane: 7,5/10
"Fast Lane" gives Em and Royce another event to display their extraordinary lyricism. The track touches multiple different topics and is a classic example of both rappers being able to convey many different themes in their rapping.
The track crafts a humorous horrorcore. They convey the horror-theme with well-thought, funny lyrics. An example is this:
"You've been warned if you've been borned or if you conformed
Slap up a cop and then snatch him outta his uniform
Leave him with his socks, hard bottoms and bloomers on
And hang him by his balls from the horn of a unicorn
Y'all n*ggas' intellect mad slow, y'all fags know
Claimin' you bangin'"
These hard-ass lyrics cements Royce's spot as a pioneer of the rap game. The courage and careless mindset it takes to spit these bars, show that he's been in the game for a long time.
Unicorns often symbolize peace, so hanging the cop. Cops are also "Peace-keepers". To hang a cop by his balls from the symbol of peace's horn is very ironic.
The almost satanic method Royce implies he wants to use to kill a cop, along with the humorous conveying of the method, reduce the feeling of actual horrorcore.
A must-add to the workout playlist. It goes hard.
The Reunion: 6/10
Unlike the previous track, which brings a humorous conveying of the horrorcore, this doesn't. This track is straight up and hardcore horrorcore.
The track features two different story lines, which merge together at the ending.
The track features multiple lyrics aimed towards women, here are some examples:
"In fact, get in the backseat, like the rest of my dates
No bitch rides shotgun"
"He hugs the mistress, turns around
And gives the missus hugs and kisses"
"We been riding around in this hatchback 'til I'm fuckin' hunchback
Where's the fuck's this party, at slutbag cunt? Cut what act?
Think it's an act? Fuck that, I'm tryin' to shag, skuzz"
The way Royce and Em use the mysogynistic lyrics aren't to degrade women, but to show how little they care about what other people think of them, along side being aimed at the general sensitiveness of the new generation.
Above The Law: 5/10
The theme is just discussed with Royce and Em careless mindset towards what other people think, is continued on the fourth track of the EP. On here the rappers speak about doing what the hell they want despite what other people might think of it.
The track features multiple inventive lyrics, but other than it's an average track from the two.
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| The cover art for "On Everything" depicts actor Zach Galifianakis, who played a role in the comedy movie series Hangover |
I'm On Everything (feat. Mike Epps): 4,5/10
This is what the album needed. A humorous track about drugs, and how Em and Royce are on more crazy shit than you. It has similar style to the D12 track "Purple Pills".
The hook describes the whole feeling and meaning of the track really well:
"Syrup, painkillers, cigarette, weed,
Hennessy, vodka, ha-ha-ha-ha-ha, (I'm on everything!)"
This track surely is a must-need for the album, since it brings a happy and funny vibe and steps away from the horrorcore genre. However the track remains the hard-style beat, which doesn't sound good at all.
A Kiss: 6/10
The track is produced by Bangladesh, who also produced Lil Wayne's first single "6 Foot 7 Foot" from Carter IV. You can definitely hear it on the track with an up-tempo, rising beat.
The track shows off a fast flow with multiple different rhyme schemes and well-thought lyrics.
Lighters (feat. Bruno Mars): 8/10
The first track to feature a radio likeable vibe, mostly coming from Bruno Mars. The track was originally intended to be on Royce's fifth studio album Success Is Certain. But after Em heard the beat, he hopped on it and created a masterpiece.
"Had a dream, I was king; I woke up, still king
This rap game's nipple is mine for the milking"
These bars references the notorious Martin Luther King speech "I Have a Dream" and unintentionally it references M.L. King's Milking play.
These are some of Mark Zuckerberg's favorite lines as he wrote this:
Speaking about the bars and the unintentional reference to a play, Em wrote:
"Because of the Martin Luther King quote - "had a dream" - someone thought "milking" was a play on M.L. King. It's not. But I've thought that about other people's lines. Sometimes me and Slaughterhouse will talk, and I'll be like "Yo, you meant this?" And he'll be like"No", and I'm like, "You should tell people you meant that"
A really nice addition to the otherwise mostly hardcore EP.
Take From Me: 7/10
"Take From Me" is a track with a lot to it. It references and speaks about a lot of different problems in their lives. i.e. the issues of fake friends, their problems with fame and what comes with it, critics of their work who have no real credibility, and the most dominating them about the frustrating feeling of your art getting stolen or pirated on the internet.
The song speaks about the hard work both of the rappers put in for their fans. And it brings guilt over the ones, who leaked their prior songs. A more reflective track from the EP.
Loud Noises (feat. Slaughterhouse): 4/10
The EP ends with a hard-ass track featuring Royce's group Slaughterhouse. The track is truly a "slaughter" track brining the horrorcore theme back into the EP.
Not the right ending to the EP if you ask me, but a great way to show the critics how less they still care about what other people think of them.
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